Some Things Never Change
by AZillionLittleStars
Summary: AU, in which Annabeth has big books and Percy has big dreams. {One-shot.}


**{AU- In which Percy has big dreams and Annabeth has big books.}**

* * *

The first time Percy meets Annabeth, he instantly doesn't like her. They are in the third grade and have to sit next to each other. Percy is right-handed, but Annabeth is left-handed, and they always end up bumping elbows. She raises her hand too much and always gets the answer right. However, when Percy is involuntarily called on, he can never get near the right answer. The worst part though, is the giant books she carries around. Why in the world would a third grader want to be reading _The Odyssey_? He hated reading. And school.

Mrs. Renolds is talking about long multiplication, and Percy got lost already. He has the unfortunate combination of ADHD and dyslexia, making it nearly impossible for him to pay attention in class. He wants to be a marine biologist when he grows up, but he is not sure how to get that far. They are supposed to be filling out a worksheet, but Percy couldn't get passed writing his name down with his scribble-like handwriting. Little Miss Perfect however was already done, probably with perfect answers in her perfect handwriting. Ugh.

"Hey." Annabeth whispered, her purple mechanical pencil teeter-tottering in her hand.

Percy tried to focus on his work and not Little Miss Perfect's, so he chose to ignore her.

"Hey." She tried again, this time poking him slightly.

"What?" Percy snapped, turning his head to meet her startling gray eyes.

"I can help you, if you want." She offered, gesturing towards the math problems on the sheet.

"I'm too stupid to do it." Percy confided, adding, "I have ADHD and dyslexia."

For some odd reason, Annabeth's eyes lit up.

"Can I tell you a secret?"

Percy really didn't have many other friends to tell.

"Sure."

She leaned in even closer, and Percy's ears turned red. "I have ADHD and dyslexia, too."

But she was so..._perfect_. There was no way she could have ADHD and dyslexia like him.

"Come on, let's start with number one." Annabeth commanded, slowly explaining to him everything you needed to do get 34 x 25. Turns out it was 850. The next one, Annabeth let him try on his own.

16 x 72...

6 x 2 is...12. Carry the one, 6 x 1 = 6, plus one is 7. 712.

6 x 7 is...42. Carry the four...

Then he was stuck again.

"See? I'm too stupid for this."

"You were close!" Annabeth encouraged. "But first, you have to add the zero on the second row. Watch." She explained it again, and Percy tried the next one on his own.

He got it correct.

::

"How was your day, Perce?" Sally Jackson asked as she drove home from his elementary school. Usually he looked increasingly sad and tired, but today his blue-green eyes had that sparkle back in them that she loved so much.

"Great!" Percy exclaimed. Sally smiled, it was rare when Percy described school as great. She knew it was hard on him, with dyslexia and ADHD.

"What happened?"

"The girl named Annabeth who sits next to me in class who answers all the questions in class and gets them all right helped me with math and got it!"

If Sally wasn't driving, she would have pinched herself. Percy was exicted about _math_, math of all subjects!

This Annabeth girl must be something special.

* * *

Percy and Annabeth are in eighth grade now, and things are weird.

They are best friends still, and Percy has a solid B average. His mom got a new boyfriend, Paul. If that wasn't weird enough by itself, girls kept...looking at him. Annabeth said it was because they thought he was cute. He thought that was ridiculous, he wasn't cute. He always blushed and Annabeth always laughed at him.

She was mean like that.

In an act of revenge, Percy always teased her she about her nerdy glasses she got since the doctor said she strained her eyes too much trying to read with dyslexia.

On this particular Friday, Percy was his usual hyper self, with some extra energy about the excitement of hanging out with Annabeth after school. Annabeth, however, was not her usual self. Her golden curls hung in front of her face, even though Percy knew she absolutely hated that. He couldn't find her in the cafeteria, and they didn't have class together until homeroom. After what felt like a lifetime, Percy finally slid in to the seat next to Annabeth.

"Hey." He said, gently nudging her. She didn't look up from her notebook. Percy mentally went through the last 48 hours and he couldn't think of anything he did wrong, which led him to believe she was upset. "What's wrong?" He whispered. Annabeth didn't say anything, but handed him a piece of paper. It turns out that it was her most recent Algebra 3-4 test.

Percy didn't know why she was upset. She got B-.

Then he remember Annabeth was a hardcore perfectionist, and was easily upset over small mistakes.

He didn't know what to do with sad Annabeth. He much preferred happy Annabeth, who gave him sarcastic remarks and called him 'idiot'.

So, he did the only thing he knew how to do- tell stupid jokes.

{Apparently Annabeth didn't appreciate why seagulls don't fly over bays.}

::

When it was long past ten o'clock, Sally went to go check on the kids in the living room. The credits of Powerpuff Girls was playing in the background. Sally almost tripped over Percy and Annabeth; who were currently covered in blankets in the middle of the floor. They were wrapped up in each other.

Sally's logical side said she shouldn't let them do that anymore; that they were thirteen and that's just not what thirteen year old friends do.

However, Sally's motherly side dominated, and she couldn't get how cute they looked.

Sighing, Sally turned off the TV.

They sure were something special.

* * *

Percy almost didn't answer the phone.

They were juniors now.

Ever since Percy got a girlfriend {Calypso}, they had been skirting around each other. They weren't fighting, since there was never an actual fight, but ignoring each other felt just as bad. Then about a two weeks of silence, he calls her. Not texting, not real talking, calling him at ten thirty PM. He considered declining her call-since maybe he was out with his girlfriend Annabeth seemed to hate so much. But then he remembered how much Annabeth means to him, and how she had trust issues since her first boyfriend disaster {the name Luke had pretty much became the equivalent of Voldemort}.

So he pressed Accept.

"Percy?" A voice that sounded kind of like Annabeth {but was a little high pitched} squeaked.

"Annabeth?" He asked, and his heart fluttered. Annabeth sounded like she was scared, and not just spider scared.

"A-are you busy?" She asked quietly.

"No." Percy answered a little too quickly. He really wanted to see Annabeth again, he missed her.

"I-I need help." She admitted, and Percy went into panic mode. "Where are you?" He didn't bother to ask her why she needed help, it didn't matter.

"The park by your house."

:

That's how they ended up on Percy's couch, soaking wet and covered in blankets. Annabeth was still shaking, and wouldn't look up from the floor.

"I got in a fight with my dad." Annabeth confined, her head dropping into Percy's lap out of habit.

"Do you want to call him?" Percy asked, his fingers absent-mindlessly running her damp blonde curls.

"No."

::

Listening from the kitchen, Sally could hear the tension slowly dissolving. For the rest of the night, the discussion of girlfriends and fathers were cleverly avoided. Sally called Fredrick to reassure him Annabeth was safe, and continued making cookies that the duo in the living room never grew out of.

...they never grew out of blanket forts either.

* * *

They graduated.

Annabeth was off to NYU, and Percy had finally figured out who he wanted to be, joining the US Marines.

Four years later, Annabeth graduated from NYU School of Architecture with flying colors, and Percy was coming home.

Stepping off the bus, his eyes immediately landed on his mother. She smiled at him, and he knew she was going to cry (because that is what moms do). He hugged her, and kissed her now-graying curly hair.

"My sweet, sweet Percy."

After Sally finally let goes of him, he is met with another gray.

The startling gray that always looked like glitter when she laughed; the gray of Annabeth's beautiful eyes.

He thought she was going to hug him. But, instead, their lips crashed together.

Power surged through Percy's body- because here he was, kissing the girl he was in love with since he was seventeen. His arms made their way around her waist, and hers slung around his neck. After their oxygen level was significantly decreased, Annabeth leaned her forehead against his.

"I missed you too."

::

Sitting in the front row of Percy and Annabeth's wedding, Sally was trying to stop herself from crying before the ceremony even began. Everything was changing now- her little baby was getting married. However, somethings will never change.

Annabeth will always have big books, and Percy will always have big dreams.

* * *

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson.**

**...thoughts?**


End file.
